Metro Councilman Darren Jernigan said today that he’s agreed to a request from Mayor Karl Dean’s office to defer a bill that would restrict development in the flood plain. In exchange for the two-month deferral, which will push a public hearing back to September, Dean agreed to direct the planning commission not to approve any flood-plain development proposals until the bill can be considered.

“That’s a fair compromise for me,” Jernigan said.

He said he’ll meet with the planning department next week to start hammering out a substitute bill that will more closely get at what he wants to do than the placeholder he filed with the council Tuesday, when he was pushing for a public hearing in July. Ten council members already have agreed to co-sponsor the legislation, from conservatives like Duane Dominy to liberals like Mike Jameson.

“I think we’ll have the votes once we get a good bill in place,” Jernigan said.